Verstappen vows to "come back stronger" after 'tough to take' Bahrain DNF

Max Verstappen has conceded Red Bull's double-DNF in Bahrain was 'tough to take' but warned the team will "come back stronger" in Saudi Arabia.

Both Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez retired in the final three laps of the F1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after suffering problems with the fuel system in their respective RB18s.

At the time of their retirements, Verstappen had been running second behind race-winner Charles Leclerc, with Perez third when his Red Bull seized and spun on the final lap.

"Last weekend was a tough one for all of us to take, we win and lose as a team and we’ll come back stronger this week," said Verstappen.

"We have a good package and we were competitive in Bahrain, so there are positives to take from the weekend, and we have a very long season ahead - it's only the first race."

Verstappen finished second to Lewis Hamilton in last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the two battled for world championship honours.

This time around, the Dutchman is aiming to put his first score on the board for the season.

"Looking ahead to Saudi, the track is still very new for us, last year the humidity was challenging and they’ve made some small adjustments to visibility in sector one so I'm curious to see how it's going to be this time around," explained Verstappen.

"It's a really quick track with high-speed straights and this year the cars are slightly heavier so it's going to be really interesting to see how they will perform.

"I’m really looking forward to it, it should be enjoyable!"

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